Project Bat
by RossXMaster
Summary: What started as a favor between two friends ends up becoming a big problem! What does Tails have planned behind-the-scenes with his genetic experiments? Based on an anonymous role-playing session I had back in March 2014. Tweaked up the writing a bit and now I'm posting this in parts. Hey partner, if you're reading this, I had fun doing it! Thanks!
1. Weight on Your Shoulders

One fine morning in the outskirts of Station Square, everyone's favorite classy bat burglar was standing in the middle of her beautiful home. It was Rouge the Bat, who had just woken up and was ready to start her day right.

Suddenly, her doorbell started to ring. ''My my, I wonder who that could be?'' she asked aloud.

Outside her door was the genius inventor, Miles Prower, or simply Tails to his friends. He let out a sigh, and straightened his goggles. He would need Rouge's help for his new experiments on genetic manipulation. "Rouge? It's Tails! Can I come and talk to you for a second?"

''Oh, fox boy! I was just about to ask you for something!'' With open arms, the bat opens the door for her younger friend. ''Please, come in.''

Tails started walking through the doorway. "Nice place." he mutters to himself. He saw all of the essentials that a nice home had. A lovely kitchen, some nice-looking furniture, and his curious mind got him to briefly glance towards Rouge's open bedroom. In it he simply saw a large heart shaped bed. "Odd. I don't think more than one person lives with Rouge, so why would she need such a big bed?" He shrugs it off. It probably wasn't important.

Rouge and Tails stop at the kitchen counter, where Rouge asks him, ''So listen, Tails. I wanted to ask a favor of you...''

"Anything, Rouge!", he responds, not wanting to disappoint his friend. He lifts his goggles to his forehead. Perhaps this little favor could make things easier when he would ask for her own help, but he wasn't holding his breath. First he'd let himself hear her out.

''You see, I've been taking up to baking recently.'' Rouge then directs his attention to a plate of pastries on the table across the room. Donuts, cookies, cupcakes, and a nice-looking bunch of cinnamon rolls piled up in the center, among other things.

This was quite the surprise to Tails. He never thought that an extrovert like Rouge would take up quite an independent activity, especially one like baking. She didn't seem like the type to do that sort of thing. He made a mental note to ask her about the origins of this interest at some point or another.

Rouge continued. ''Anyways, I think I've been doing pretty good at it myself. My cinnamon swirls are to DIE for. But, well...''

"But what?" Tails tilts his head to the side.

Rouge sighs. ''I noticed I've been... uh... well, putting on a bit of weight recently.'' As she said this, she lightly patted her stomach to prove her point.

Tails hadn't realized it before; he was never one to just gawk at people's bodies; but upon further inspection he saw that the bat did in fact look a little chubbier than she used to be. It wasn't much, the only real place where she's noticeably grown was her newly-formed gut, but it was certainly noticeable, especially for someone who used to be so skinny. Tails wondered just how many pastries Rouge had eaten since taking up her new hobby.

Rouge finished. ''..and well, since you're so good at tinkering with stuff, is there any way you can give these things a bit of a health-kick to them?''

"Well," Tails responded as he put on his goggles. "You could replace the flour with Gluten-free-based grains, and replace the sugar with healthy replacements." He smiles at her. "I know, I know, I'm a savior."

Rouge, unsurprisingly, looked a little disgusted by this. She didn't want to object to her friend's assistance, but she also didn't want to change the recipes that made those baked goods so delicious to begin with. Regardless, she answered. ''Ugh. Sounds gross, but I'll try it.'' Tails started giving Rouge a look of concern. Was he not being helpful enough? Or maybe...

''I guess I was expecting something a little more... sciencey,'' Rouge finished.

Bingo. This was just the drive Tails needed. "You want science? I'll give you science!" Tails then grabbed Rouge's arm, and dragged her outside.

Rouge, not in the mood for games, reacts appropriately. ''Whoa, hey, fox boy! What gives?''

"Tails-Copter!" he calls out, and a small yellow helicopter flies before them. "Get in. I'm gonna science you right the hell up!" He climbs into the driver's seat.

''Me? But what about the pastries over there?'' Rouge was starting to question Tails' sudden mood change, and she was ready for Tails to experiment on her pastries, not on herself.

"Get in, We're doing science!" was all Tails said.

After a brief moment of silence, Rouge sighed. ''Well, can't argue with that logic,'' she says sarcastically as she gets in the copter. At least her day was going to get exciting.

"Computer! Activate autopilot route 50-1C!" he shouts, and the helicopter **_shoots_** into the sky.

''Oh boy. Ooooooh boy, this is NOT how I want to die!'' Rouge cries as she covers her eyes with her hands and her ears droop.

"Calm it, Rouge!'' Tails insists. ''This is the safest and fastest helicopter around! We'll be fi-" Tails hits his head on the roof as they land. "Ow.."

''I won't say a word. This pretty much SPEAKS for itself.'' Rouge tries to regain her balance.

Tails wanders out of the helicopter, with Rouge following suit. The two were at the peak of the Mystic Ruins, where Tails' laboratory was standing at the edge. "Ah, My glorious laboratory." He clasps his hands together as the two enter the room. "Let's do some science."

''You still haven't told me what we were doing here yet, buddy.'' Rouge stands impatiently with her hands on her hips while tapping her foot.

"Simple!'' he cries. ''I was going to ask you to help me with a genetic experiment, but you already did it for me!'' He walks towards Rouge with an air of confidence on his face. ''Now, come with me, so we can get rid of that slow-metabolism problem." He pokes Rouge's stomach to prove his point, which she personally wasn't too fond of, but she wasn't about to question the genius.

''Well, _this_ should be fun.'' Rouge follows Tails towards his desk without saying anything.

Tails wanders into his lab, and finally points at a small table. "Sit down, and let the doctor work his magic."

''You really know how to treat a lady.'' Rouge sits on the table with her legs crossed.

He opens up his laptop, and begins to sift through pages of code. "Just a moment, I need to find the proper drawer to find the metabolism enhancer.."

''Don't mind me, kid. I've got all day.'' Rouge stares at the rest of the laboratory in boredom. Suddenly, a dinging sound was heard, and Tails closed his laptop, and reached into one of his desk drawers. "There we are."

Rouge was intrigued. She had never seen Tails at work before so she was curious to see what he came up with. ''So, what kinda magic pill does the doctor have for me today?''

"Pill? Oh no.." He pulls out a rather large needle. "We're going to do something a bit more painful." Tails grins like a madman.

A few seconds of silence pass. Rouge, not ready to get stabbed by such a big needle, tries to improvise an escape plan.

''Whoa... whoa, boy! Would you look at the time! I really need to run now!'' She starts to step backwards towards the door at a slow pace. ''Don't mind me, I really don't mind being a little chubby. I mean, hey. It gives me some extra curves. So how about we... let all this go, and you can go back to doing your...''

"Computer! Activate the restraints!"

''The what?''

Large metal hands clasp around Rouge. The bat screams, then immediately tries to break free. These things were tough, and even someone of her strength wasn't ready to break loose anytime soon. Angered, she cries, ''Hey, what gives, dweeb? Why so aggressive?''

Tails begins to snicker, much to Rouge's confusion and annoyance. "Man, Rouge, you don't know me at all!" He throws the needle back in his drawer. "I just felt like messing with you!"

Rouge couldn't believe it. Her, the world's best jewel thief, liar extraordinaire, was just duped by an 8-year old. Still, she wasn't mad at him. ''That was diabolical, kid. I'm impressed. Now... how about you let me go here so I can give you a round of applause?'' Rouge chuckled. She really needed to start hanging out with him more.

Tails laughs, and pulls out a small bottle. "Computer. Let her go." The restraints immediately cease and Rouge flutters to the ground, rubbing her wrists as she lands.

''You didn't need to have such a grip on these things,'' mocked Rouge.

"Knuckles exists, remember?" he reminds her.

''Whatever,'' she simply shrugs. ''So now that we're done joking around here... what's in the bottle?''

Tails answers, "Experimental Metabolism Enhancers."

While Rouge was a smart bat, she was never familiar with the kind of scientific lingo that some of her allies used. Somehow she guessed that Tails knew this. She crosses her arms and asks politely, ''...in English, please.''

Tails, still smirking but completely deadpan, answers. "Take a couple of these, and you can eat all you want."

A bright smile emerges on Rouge's face. Was it really that easy? She didn't really care anymore. ''Whoa. Really? Hey, let me try one of those things! You got any water?''

He dumps three pills into his hands, and hands them to her. "Water's in the kitchen. Computer! Show our guest where the kitchen is?" The computer then drops three giant glowing arrows that point towards the door beside her. Rouge stands for a moment before sighing once more.

''I think I could have figured that out myself.''

"I doubt it." Tails mutters, and begins to sift through more code.

'' 'I doubt it.' '' Rouge says while imitating Tails. ''Smartass.''

"Fatty." Mildly offended, Rouge walks towards the kitchen sink with her pills in hand. Tails, making sure she was out of sight, quickly pulls a small flask out of his drawer.

"Sonic would kill me... ah, screw it." He chugs it, and stuffs it back into the drawer.

Back in the kitchen, Rouge advances towards the sink and attempts to pour herself a glass of water. The sink, however, didn't seem to be working properly, as not a single drop of water came out of the faucet.

''Figures,'' she groans. ''The kid's got an I.Q. of over 300 but he can't be bothered to fix his kitchen sink.'' Rouge then started to look around for a suitable substitute. Checking the refrigerator, the first thing she sees is a six-pack of some no-name brand of soda. ''I'm sure fox boy won't be missing one of these.'' Rouge takes a can out of the fridge and opens it up, putting it aside and looking at the pills in her hand.

''Do I really want to do this?'' she questions herself. ''I mean, there are probably better ways then just popping a couple of pills and hoping things'll turn out oka-''

Rouge was interrupted by her stomach growling. She was hungry, a feeling that was a lot more common after her recent weight gain. She looked at her pot belly in annoyance and told it, as if it was a living thing, ''Yeah, you're not gonna be sticking around anymore.'' She prodded her gut at its' side in retaliation, and picks up the pills again, soda in hand.

''Well, here goes nothing.'' She swallows the pills whole before chugging the entire can of soda and slamming it down on the table.

Seconds pass. Rouge certainly doesn't feel any different, and her fat stomach was just as prominent as it always was. She was starting to get a little ticked.

''...hey, what gives? I thought I was - ***HICCUP!***''

Rouge suddenly let out the loudest hiccup she had ever heard. Covering her mouth with both hands in embarrassment, she was briefly shocked at herself before slowly moving her hands away from her face and back to her stomach. ''I guess that soda really packs a punch,'' she joked to herself.

It was then that Rouge realized that her once pudgy stomach was no more. She now had the flat, slender physique she once had. Rouge smirks at herself and exits the kitchen, advancing towards Tails. ''Hey, that was a neat trick, kid. Tell me, what's the catch? Where does it all go?''

"Simple.'' he quickly responds. ''Nano tech converts the fat into air. You're breathing fat.

While a bit surprised, Rouge quickly ignores the disgusting mechanics behind those pills considering the results that came from it. ''Gross, but effective. So, now that the deed is done, I'd best be go-''

"Going? Alrighty then." A mechanical arm grabs Rouge, and tosses her out. "By the way, could you get me some of those Cinnamon Swirls the next time you visit?"

Rouge dusts herself off and simply smiles at him. ''Sure thing, kid. I'll drop some off tomorrow.'' She walks away from the workshop and looks at the bottle of pills in her hand. ''You babies are going to be my life-saver.''

"Thanks Rouge!" Tails calls out before setting his goggles on and getting back to work.

Back outside, Rouge continues walking home humming to herself before something catches her off-guard.

''***HICCUP!*''**

Rouge stops in her steps, a bit peeved that these hiccups were still around to bug her, before she looked down and saw that the worst had happened...

...her breasts had shrunk.

Turning bright red, Rouge screams, ''Tails? I need to see you again!'' Rouge flies back towards the lab in anger, hoping that the little punk could fix what he had just started.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Stay tuned for Part 2!**


	2. Age is But a Number

Rouge, in a fit of rage, kicks down the door of Tails' laboratory. The young fox, unfazed, was working on some kind of robot with a blowtorch. He asks the bat without turning his head, "Hey, you're back already. Got some of those Cinnamon dealies?"

''No, but what I _do_ have is another dilemma!'' Rouge yells as she moves in front of Tails' chair, making sure her body was in clear view. ''Notice anything different here, techno-geek?''

"..Nope," Tails responds simply. Despite his smarts, Tails was a semi-innocent boy. It didn't help that his goggles were clouded by smoke.

With a palm to her face, Rouge mutters, ''Okay, how do I say this...''

"**/Scanning./**" Tails' computer sends rapid-moving cameras to scan Rouge's body. Seconds later, it adds, "**/Subject: Rouge has a 49% decrease in breast size./**"

Flabbergasted, Rouge answers nervously, ''...yeah. What he said.''

Without a word, Tails drops his blowtorch, and starts rolling on the floor in laughter. "Heheh. Hahah! HAHAHAH! ROUGE LOST HER BOOBIES!" Tails was practically in tears.

Rouge's face turns red. ''Hey, listen here, kid! This is NOTHING to laugh about!'' Rouge takes Tails' arm and pulls him towards her. ''You want those Cinnamon Swirls, then help me out here!'' Unfortunately, Rouge didn't know her own strength, and the momentum of her tug sends Tails' light frame straight towards Rouge's smaller but still ample chest.

Tails, a little embarrassed, moves his face away from Rouge's bosom and dusts himself off. Rouge clears her throat. ''Well. Uh, we've got a lot of work to do. Tails, let's get moving.'' She steps towards Tails' laptop, giving him a signal to follow suit.

He wanders over to Rouge. "Don't try to be nerdy. It's not working."

''Don't try to be helpful. You're not very good at it.''

"Computer! Restraints!"

''Okay, okay!'' Rouge was done joking around. ''Now, can we get started please?''

"I need to find the genetic formula anomaly." He sifts through the code on his computer.

''I'm not even gonna ask at this point.'' She stares intensely at Tails as he's searching.

''I can't seem to figure out what went wrong!'' Tails whines. ''Rouge, you took the three pills with a clean glass of water, right?"

Rouge doesn't say anything, simply shuffling her feet.

''Rouge...''

''Okay, fine. Your sink wasn't working so I used one of the cans of soda in your fridge instead! I probably should've told you, but I didn't think it was a big deal!''

''Rouge, who knows what kind of side-effects the carbonation in that soda might've had on that-''

''***HICCUP!***''

Rouge covered her mouth again with a nervous look in her eye. She looks down and sees that her breasts have again shrunken down in size. The computer analyses. ''**/Subject: Rouge has suffered a loss of 72% of her breasts./**''

''Well, that's one mystery solved,'' Tails concurs. ''It looks like the carbonation caused some diaphragm contractions that somehow triggered these strange shifts of your body.''

''Kid, can you speak a little more simply?'' Rouge asks, annoyed.

''You drank too much soda and got the hiccups, airhead. They must've caused some kind of side effect to the pill.'' Tails finally stops typing on his computer, and finds the specifics behind these side effects going on. ''Ah, here we are.'' The computer shows a wire frame of Rouge's form, slowly shrinking with a set of dropping numbers at the corner of the monitor. ''It appears that the genetic material is simply reversing your genetic code, causing cells to undifferentiate, and merge back with their twin cells."

''Tails. I don't have time for your technical crap.'' Rouge gives him an angry look. ''Please, simplify.''

Tails turns his chair and simply says, "Miss Bat-Face is De-aging!"

Awestruck, Rouge takes a step backward. ''Miss Bat-Face is wha- ***HICCUP!***'' Rouge hiccups again, making her chest completely flat in the process.

"Yep. De-Aging." He sets his goggles. "Computer! Analysis!"

**''/Subject: Rouge has suffered a loss of 98% of her breasts./''**

Rouge stares at the empty space on her body in disbelief. ''So, what's that mean for me?''

Tails replies, "If we don't de-activate the process, you'll turn into a fetus, and eventually disappear from existence!"

Rouge blanks out. ''...that. That's kinda bad.''

Sarcastically, Tails continues. "Nah, It's wonderful! We won't have to deal with an airhead bat anymore." He continues sifting through the code.

''We won't have to deal with a know-it-all mutant fox either if you don't _do something about this_!'' Rouge hits Tails upside the head on his chair.

"_I'M TRYING, YOU HALF-NAKED LAGOMORPH!_" He barks.

There was a moment of silence. Tails had finally had enough of Rouge's complaining and needed a moment to breathe. Rouge, unprepared for that kind of reaction, softly remarks:

''Wow. Didn't know you had it in ya, kid.''

Tails simply grunts in frustration as he continues tinkering with his computer.

''Look, I'm sorry, okay?'' Rouge steps towards him. ''I'm sorry I got you into this WHOLE mess. I should have just left you alone.''

He sighs, his two tails swishing. "It's fine. I'm sorry for forcing you into it. I should have tested it on a plant or something."

''Plants ain't got what I got.'' Rouge retorts. ''It wouldn't have mattered anyway.''

"I'm going to ignore that." He shrugs,and begins to reinject different forms of code.

Rouge puts her hand to her cheek and taps her foot. ''Do... do you want me to leave you alone? I can get you some of those cinnamon swirls you wanted.''

Without delay, Tails answers. "It's fine. Just sit on the table and let the computer monitor you."

''If you say so.'' Rouge sulks towards the table at sits down with her legs crossed. Cameras are starting to eye her at every angle. For once uncomfortable by the large amount of attention, she asks, ''Tails? Are all these cameras really necessary?''

The computer's speakers start up again.** ''/Subject: Rouge is genetically 18 years old. Subject is now 17.82 years old./''**

"Very necessary. You're de-aging at a faster and faster pace."

''Well, so far, nothing else major has come up ye- ***HI-YICCUP!***'' Rouge hiccups again, this time reducing her rear to a below-average state. She jumped at the sudden shift downwards. ''...oh. Oh, now THIS has gone too far.''

''**/Subject: Rouge is now genetically 16 years old./**''

"Oh dear. Computer! Attempt on making a Slowing agent!"

''**/Proceeding now, Master Tails./**''

''Okay, I KNOW I still had some curves when I was SIXTEEN!'' Rouge complains. ''Why's this de-aging whatever getting to all of the fat parts of me first?''

"That was it's primary directive, Miss Sweet Tooth!" With that said, Rouge knew to stop talking.

''/**Subject: Rouge is now genetically 15.68 years old./**''

''Well, la-dee-dah! Look, I get that you're working hard and all, but could you maybe- ***HICCUP!***''

Rouge started hiccuping again, but this time they came at a more rapid pace. They started coming every other second, with most of her features slowly disintegrating with each one, and Rouge growing younger as they kept going. Eventually he finally stops, this time at around the age of 9.

Tails turns around, and blushes at this new sight. "Oh. uh..."

''**/De-Aging Pill successfully synthesized. Inject into Subject?/**''

Nervously, he quickly answers, "Do it, Computer."

A small tray with a pill and a glass of water is revealed to Rouge.

''And not a moment too thoon.''

The two were silent as Tails started at Rouge awkwardly.

''I had a lithp when I wath nine, okay?'' Rouge retorts in embarrassment.

Rouge takes the pill and quickly swallows it, not even bothering to drink the water given to her.

"That's adorable!" Tails laughs. "Computer! Begin to synthesize a permanent reversal to this case!"

''**/Right away, Master Tails/.**"

"You're still de-aging,'' Tails explains. ''But at least it's a bit slower now."

''**/Subject Rouge is 8.99 years old..Subject rouge is 8.98 years old/.**''

**_(A.N.: Rouge still has the lisp while she's stuck like this, but because butchering words on purpose is a pain, her dialogue will be written normally.)_**

''So, can you fix this for good?'' Rouge was frightened at this new transformation of hers.

"Hopefully. But we can't be sure. I can stop it, but I might not be able to bring you back to your former age."

Rouge was at a loss for words.

"What? Science can't do everything, Rougey."

''I don't know how to feel about this. I mean, what about my job? Who's gonna pay my rent? And... and I can't even go into a bar anymore!''

"Well, Look at me!'' Tails says, trying to cheer her up. ''I just make a ton of war machines, and the Government just pays for everything!" He laughs. "And bars? Don't worry about that." Tails takes out the flask he was drinking from earlier.

Rouge smirks. ''...you sly dog, you.''

Tails finishes. "Besides, if you don't re-age, You can stay with me!" He smiles.

Rouge, aware of what Tails is trying to accomplish, simply crosses her arms. ''Well, whatever. We solve this problem first. Let's get that de-age thing done and over with, shall we?''

''**/De-Aging Solvent 96 percent complete./**''

"Almost..." Tails clenches his fists. Rouge crosses her fingers.

''**/Anomaly detected in solvent. Solvent will fail to re-age the subject. Skip formula?/**''

"Well, crud. Anyway, Computer, skip the formulation."

Rouge bends her head down and sighs sadly. ''Let's hurry it up, I'm not getting any older here!''

"Quite the opposite, Rouge.'' Tails puts his hand on her shoulder. ''Don't fret, little bat. Besides, With a little help in the lab, We could get you re-aged in no time."

''Really?''

"I dunno! Maybe!" He laughs. "Don't worry. We could be a good duo, you and I..."

Rouge scowls. ''Let's make sure that we STAY a duo first. ***HICCUP!***''

Rouge let out a squeakier-sounding hiccup, taking an inch off her height. She growls.

"Computer! De-Activate the De-Aging!" He points up, and a pill drops into his hand. "Take this before you're too young for me." He laughs.

''You creep.'' She lets out a chuckle and puts the pill in her mouth, drinks the water and puts the glass down. Rouge then drops to her knees.

"I'm a creep, I know." He laughs. "Computer!"

**/Solvent successful. Subject: Rouge has ceased de-aging./**

''Thank... god.'' Rouge lies down on her back.

He chuckles. "The lisp is still adorable." He turns to his monitor. "Computer, research Rouge's complete DNA."

''**/As you wish./**''

''Hey, kid.'' Rouge stands up with a smirk. ''I know you're having the time of your life here, but I still want to get back to normal.''

"Yeah, I kind of am. Don't judge me.'' He laughs. The two look outside to see that dark has long since fallen. "It's late. Want to go home, or wanna stay in the lab quarters?"

''Well, you can come to my place for those cinnamon swirls you've been asking for all day.''

"Take the Copter or Walk?"

Rouge shudders at the thought. ''I don't feel like having any more joyrides for today. We walk.''

"Alright." He nods.

Tails turns off the lights of his lab, still making sure that his machines were running, and locks the door. The two companions then leave the Mystic Ruins and make their way towards Rouge's house.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. The Project Revealed

The pair was now walking across Emerald Coast, almost approaching Rouge's house in Station Square. Along the way, the two started to make some small talk.

"So, Rouge,'' Tails began. ''How exactly _did_ you get into baking?"

''Amy came to me saying how great it would be if she could 'have a friend' along to share her hobbies with. I owe the girl a favor after she just gave me a Chaos Emerald, so I caved in and started baking with her.''

''That's strangely nice of you,'' Tails said.

''Well, anything for free jewellery. Though between you and me, I think the only reason she's doing this at all is to try and win Sonic over.''

"Hah! I wouldn't be surprised! She's been chasing Sonic for as long as I can remember!" Tails laughs.

''That's probably how she keeps her metabolism going. Meanwhile in _this _neck of the woods baking has certainly done me more bad than good.'' Rouge says in defeat.

"Hah! If it wasn't for that, We wouldn't be having this conversation," said Tails. ''But hey, at least the weight you gained is all gone.''

''Yeah, sure. And then some.'' Rouge gloomily looks at her smaller stature from different angles. ''I think I'd honestly rather have to deal with a few extra pounds than being nine years old again.''

"Aw, come on! You're such a little cutie!" He pinches her cheek.

Rouge quickly slapped Tails' hand away from her face. ''Cut it out, fox boy, or I swear I'll send Omega on your tails.''

"Signal disruptor. Omega's out like a light." he smirks.

Rouge was getting more and more peeved.''...Shut up.''

''Aw, come on. You can't say you're not having at least a little fun!''

Rouge slightly steps away from Tails in annoyance. ''Would you stop being weird!''

"I'm sorry, you're just so cute!" He hugs her.

Rouge sighs before pushing Tails away. ''Don't forget, Tails. I'm still an adult on the inside.''

He smiles. "But you're genetically a 8.98 year old. So it's okay."

''My brain still gets all kinds of 'bluuuuuurrggggghhhh' on that idea.'' She turns around. ''Let's keep walking.''

Tails raises an eyebrow. "Bluuuuuurrggggghhhh?" He chuckles. "Bluuuuuuuurrggggghhhh is a good thing."

''In what world, creep? Bluuuuuuuuuurrggggghhh sounds like a sick day at home, or Knuckles after a week of not bathing, or...''

Tails cringes. "I don't think Knuckles bathes at ALL."

Rouge laughs briefly before getting back to the topic at hand. ''...still, Tails, you see my point.''

Tails hovers towards Rouge, grinning before scruffing her hair. "Nah. Bluuurgh means you care."

Rouge had finally had enough of Tails' antics and quickly stepped away from him, with her arms crossed. ''Look, kid. I'll just go outright and say it. You, are NOT getting to me. If you think this is some petty excuse to try and get in my pants, you're SADLY mistaken! I'm still 18 years old, and you're still just a kid, so stop trying to... to bluuuuuuuurgh me and just leave me alone!'' Rouge then turned away and flew off into the distance in frustration.

"Wait, pants?" He stands there, confused. "I don't wear pants." He looks down. "The best thing I have is goggles." Tails was... genuinely at a loss for words. "Whatever. Back to the lab, I suppose."

Just as he was about to head off to his lab, a hand suddenly touches his shoulder and stops him from flying off.

''I saw that, Tails. I'm disappointed.''

Tails turns around. "Hm?" His look of confusion changes to one of surprise.

''I thought you would be better than this.''

Tails already knew who it was simply by the evil tone in his voice.

"Hey Shadow,'' he said nonchalantly. "You back to annoy everyone again?"

''No. That's Sonic's job.'' He places his hand off of Tails and crosses his arms. ''What do you think you're doing?''

"Simple,'' he replies. ''Rouge came to me for a way to make her a bit less chubby, and I ended up de-aging her to 9 years old. Apparently she thinks I'm trying to get in her pants." He tightens his goggles, just in case Shadow wanted to punch him in the eyes. "I'm 8 years old, man. What would I want that's in her pants? A cookie? A 2-by-4?"

''Look, Tails. I'm not going to give you the speech about the Babylons and the bees and I'll just get straight to my point. I saw you when you left your lab this morning.''

"Hm?" He tilts his head, his bright blue eyes losing their child-like wonder.

''You were planning on experimenting on Rouge long before you found out about her little situation. I heard you say it.'' He tightens his fists. ''I think I can draw to conclusions from here.''

After that, Tails was now sick of being the victim. He was not in the mood to be patronized by anyone else, so he finally started to defend himself. "I was in fact planning on experimenting on her. But not this. It's simple. Follow me, you shadow-born sigma." He walks back to the lab.

''How about, you follow me.'' Shadow skates at his usual hyper-speed towards Tails' workshop.

Tails lowers his eyelids. "Funny." He flies after the black hedgehog.

Later, Shadow waits patiently at the lab before Tails finally arrives. ''About time you showed up.''

''Oh, shut up.'' Tails opens the door, not bothering to turn on the lights, and starts sifting through his laptop before finding what he was looking for. "Computer, open file PROJECT BAT."

The computer screen flashes green and a series of DNA strands float across the monitor. ''**/Project Bat is a genetic recombination, that will allow anyone to sprout the abilities of the animal, who's genes have been extracted./**''

''Hmmm...'' Shadow observes the data that Tails had collected. ''I must admit, this is rather interesting. But, why would you want to do something like this? We can all handle ourselves just fine as it is, we don't need other abilities to add to that.''

"I'm not planning on enhancing, Shadow... I'm planning on creating life." He looks Shadow dead in the eyes. "A military superweapon." It was odd hearing this grim statement out of his prepubescent voice.

''So you want to make a supersoldier using the DNA of one of the world's best government agents?''

"That's right. During her insane rant, I had gotten a clipping of her wing." He places the clipping onto the keyboard. "Computer, scan."

''**/As you wish./**''

"Team Sonic is a group of the world's most elite animals. Rouge was simply the nearest."

''So it isn't just Rouge you're after, it's everyone else too.''

''Precisely. All of their powers, put into one. Nothing could get in its' way.''

Shadow puts his hand upon his chin. ''So. Why make this in the first place? People like me, Knuckles, and even Sonic can handle ourselves perfectly fine.''

"We won't be here forever,'' Tails responds. ''I'm going to make Project Bat immortal."

Shadow was a little annoyed by this statement. ''...Tails, I'm standing right here.''

''Okay, sure. _You'll _still be around. But sometimes you alone might not be enough. I want to make sure the world is as safe as it can be.''

''Tails, I'm the Ultimate Lifeform. Yes, I've had some struggles in the past, but if your friend Sonic can constantly handle himself in world-crushing situations on his own, I should do just as well.''

''Well,'' Tails finishes. ''Who's to say we can't have another Ultimate Lifeform?''

Silence filled the room as Shadow's eyes went blank.

''...what are you saying, Tails?''

"I'm building off of EVERYONE'S genetic code, Shadow. Including yours."

Without warning, Shadow grips Tails' arms and lifts him off of the ground. ''...you WHAT? When did you get your hands on my Black Arms DNA?''

''G.U.N.'s security really isn't all that great.''

''Listen to me, Tails,'' Shadow began. ''The Black Arms are a race that I sought out to destroy, piece by piece, until no one in their race is left standing but me. I may have been an exception, but the Black Arms are a bunch of savage, destructive beings that seek only to feed, and to destroy! I even contemplated suicide to ensure the race's extinction! I will NOT. Let you bring back those horrible creatures again!'' Shadow threw Tails towards his desk, toppling his notes and keyboard down to the ground.

Tails simply chuckles. "Black Arms..." he stares him dead in the eyes. "This'll be nothing like them, you'll see. This is going to be an obedient canine, and yet..." He finds the right words to say. "...enough chaos to bring down a planet."

''Even I wasn't a force of good when I was first conceptualized.'' Shadow growled. ''I stayed enraged and destructive for over 50 years. What makes you think that YOUR little experiment will be any DIFFERENT?!''

"Because he's going to be made with the most heroic DNA in the galaxy! Including yours, Shadow!" He yells. "Computer! Escort our guest out!"

''Don't give ME orders!'' Shadow cries, as he prepares to unleash a Chaos Blast upon the entire laboratory.

Upon releasing it, the chaos blast instantly disappears.

''**/Energy contained,/**'' read the computer.

"Very good,'' replied Tails. ''Fuel it into the suit."

''**/Fuel moved./**''

"Go home, Shadow. Project Bat is a go. Computer!"

''**/Already on it, Master Tails./**''

The computer unleashes a set of robotic arms towards Shadow, which he swiftly dodges. ''Force of good? You'll be no such thing if you go through with this, Tails!'' Shadow grabs both of the computer's arms and bends them in half, shorting them out in the process. ''I'll see myself out now. I won't sympathize when your plan goes awry.'' He steps toward the exit before turning around.

''Oh, and about Rouge? Stop trying to romance her. You have your place in the world, let Rouge have hers back.'' With those words said, he teleports away.

Tails, alone and frustrated, simply lowers his head. "One more thing, computer? Contact the Government. I don't care who. President, Governor, whatever... just get me someone that I can pawn this monstrosity off to."


End file.
